Huawei says it launched AirPON solution to accelerate African fibre broadband connections, which reuses existing wireless sites to build full-fibre access networks for operators quickly and at low cost.
The company unveiled the innovative solution at the recently held AfricaCom virtual technology event, a statement to Financial Street stated.
Fibre broadband has come to be seen as an essential service, especially during the Covid-19 period, with strong demand for Fibre to home deployment in Africa countries, although FTTH network construction faces huge challenges, the company explained.
Amid required large-scale initial investment and the resolution of complex problems such as right-of-way acquisition, Huawei said network construction has always been time-consuming and expensive.
Huawei’s AirPON solution specifically addresses these challenges, providing cost-effective FTTH coverage, the company stated.
Speaking on the development, Vice President, Huawei Southern Africa Region, Dean Yu, said, “With the existing 300 000 base stations in Africa, the AirPON solution can be maximised to achieve low cost and fast coverage.”
Yu added, “It reuses existing sites, optical fibre and power supplies and can achieve 10 million home fibre access connections. Huawei’s AirPON solution will help African fibre broadband connections grow, bridge the digital divide, and enable digital life in Africa.”
Technology Lifecycle Management Executive at Openserve, Sunil Piyarlall, commented that the challenge for operators was to roll out a quality network quickly while containing costs.
“The pre-connectorised cables facilitated a smaller, lower-skilled workforce but still maintained an optical power budget within specification,” Piyarlall said.
Head of Home Business for Leading Kenyan Mobile Operator at Safaricom, Franklin Kano Ocharo, also commented, “The mobile sites are network operators’ greatest advantage for FTTH rollout, as they make it easier for mobile operators to begin FTTH business.”
Ocharo added, “Through operating a mobile data network, the operator can already gain insights into customers’ data requirements and is better positioned to make the move to fibre to offer more bandwidth to support customers’ needs. Based on mobile data usage insights and market evaluation, we can better evaluate the uptake of FTTH in different areas.”
In a contribution, Head of Department of Fixed Network at Vodafone Ghana, Dikah Sylvester, expanding on the solution’s benefits, said, “With AirPON, technology can reduce the FTTH deployment cost by 29%, compared with the traditional approach. If you go with the AirPON technology, you are going to save on cost and time. AirPON is the way to go for FTTH deployment.”
Huawei has continued to innovate in full-fibre access technologies and to deliver sustainable, evolvable solutions to help operators achieve business success.
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